China's rail freight volume grew last year as shippers may have opted to move goods through rail amid continuing challenges on both air and sea freight. 

Chinese state media reported that rail freight volume was up 4.4% year-on-year in 2022, citing data from the Ministry of Transport.

It said that over 4.98 billion tonnes of cargo were transported by China's railways last year, 211 million tonnes more than that of 2021.

The total turnover of China's rail cargo transportation topped 3.59 trillion tonne-kilometres in the same period, also rising 8.1% on a yearly basis, according to the Xinhua report.

It added that China's rail freight volume climbed 2.3% year on year to 970 million tonnes in the first quarter of 2023.